


Laundry Day

by VampAmber



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, Awkward Flirting, Bisexual Dean Winchester, Castiel & Charlie Bradbury Friendship, Charlie Ships It, Crush at First Sight, Cute, Embarrassment, First Kiss, First Love, Fluff, Garth Ships It, Gay Castiel, House Party, Inspired by Fanart, Jock Dean, John Winchester's A+ Parenting, Kevin Ships It, M/M, Missouri is psychic, Pining, Secret Crush, Shy Castiel, Socially Awkward Castiel (Supernatural), Underage Drinking, special guest appearance by Misha's red leather jacket
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-08
Updated: 2017-07-08
Packaged: 2018-11-29 08:12:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11436756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VampAmber/pseuds/VampAmber
Summary: Castiel Novak should have done his laundry sooner. He seriously should have. Because all he has left clean to wear to school today is the most hideous mish mash of clothing he didn't even know why he had. As if high school wasn't hard enough...And as if all the laughing and whispers behind his back weren't bad enough, he just had to bump into his secret crush of two years, popular sports god Dean Winchester, while he was standing in the lunch line. But he has to be imagining that Dean is flirting with him, right?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Based off of this fanart, because my muse likes to mess with me that way (I **should** be working on my DCBB, but her and the ever-increasing hoard of plot bunnies just won't let me). Oh, and I take zero credit for this fanart, but if anybody knows who did it, lemme know so I can give them proper credit (because I love this one, it's so adorable).
> 
> And for probably the only time, other than my DCBB where it's required, my friend [Andromytta]() helped me out by beta-ing this. For some reason, my brain wanted alllllll the run on sentences ever when I was writing it, and refused to let me figure out a way to fix them on my own, so she helped me out a ton. Thank you, I love you! <3 <3 <3

Technically, it was all really Castiel's fault for being lazy. The last few weeks he hadn’t bothered doing his laundry, no matter how many times his mom reminded him. But he felt better by blaming the washing machine for breaking down late enough at night that he couldn’t borrow the family car to go to the laundromat when he realized all his clothes were dirty. So, the next morning, when he was getting ready for school and his only clean clothing was a pair of purple jeans he didn’t remember buying (that were stuffed away in the back of his closet), a yellow button up that had an obvious stain on the front (that he didn’t know why he’d even kept), and that garish sparkly green sweater that his older brother Gabe had bought him as a gag gift for Christmas last year, he cursed the washing machine. It figured that his parents were both much shorter than him and his older brothers had all moved out ages ago, so he was stuck with the world’s most hideous outfit ever.

After almost two years at this high school, Castiel had never really found a place to properly fit in. He was shy and awkward, and had always had trouble making friends. The fact that his family had moved here a few months before the end of his sophomore year and he didn’t have the advantage of having grown up around here like everybody else didn’t help matters any. He probably wouldn’t have made any friends, period, if it weren’t for the fact that only a few days after moving here, Charlie had spotted him at the bookstore, buying a book by her favorite author, and had basically adopted him on the spot. At least he had people to sit with during lunch, so while he was a nobody, he wasn’t actually a friendless loser. Hopefully his unintended wardrobe choices today wouldn’t make his life too miserable. It was only late February, so there were still a few months to go before graduation. In high school bully target time, that’s like a decade, at least.

He pulled his coat around himself in a defensive gesture, not wanting to reveal the circus side show that was his outfit until the very last second. The tan trench coat covered up most of it, but with how high they cranked the heat in the building to battle the Kansas cold outside, keeping it on all day was out of the question. He needed a little encouragement before he started what was most likely going to be the longest day of his life, so he headed straight to Charlie’s locker first, hands still gripping his coat closed.

“Heya, Cas,” the redhead shouted out cheerfully as soon as he was in her sights. “We still on for the Star Wars marathon tomorrow?” That was always the thing Castiel envied about her the most, she was never afraid to be herself. Shouting across the crowded high school hallway wasn’t anything to her.

“Charlie,” Castiel said when he reached her, already starting to get toasty from wearing his coat indoors.

His expression must have given something away, because his friend gasped and he was pulled into a tight hug before he could blink. “Shit, Cas, what’s wrong?” She asked as they pulled apart. Her face was concerned as she did a quick once over, probably checking for injuries.

“The, uh… the washing machine broke, and I was out of clean clothing…” he started softly before trailing off.

“Wait, are you naked under there? Going flasher on me, Novak?” She teased. He smiled at her joke, but only barely.

“Worse,” Castiel warned, and angled them so that when he opened his coat slightly, only she could see.

“Yeesh, you look like you lost a bet or something,” she said and grimaced. “Can you lose the sweater, at least?”

“The sweater’s covering up the stain on the shirt,” Castiel sighed.

“Man, you must’ve done something really awful to earn this much bad karma,” Charlie said, before pulling him into another hug. “At least it’s Friday, and maybe everybody’ll forget your fashion faux pas over the weekend after killing off a ton of brain cells at Winchester’s party.”

As the captain of pretty much every sports team possible, Dean Winchester was probably the most popular kid in school, and his parties were infamous at this point. Castiel mentally crossed his fingers that they would all get drunk enough to forget his outfit by Monday.

“Hopefully,” Castiel answered, sounding anything but.

“Just pretend that nobody else exists,” Charlie suggested. “I’ll see you for third period, and I’ll buy you an extra dessert at lunch. We can drown your sorrows in ice cream or something.” She smiled, and just like always, Castiel couldn’t help but smile back. “Be brave, soldier,” she called after him as he headed towards his own locker. He could do this, he could survive.

~~~

He couldn’t do this. He so very, very couldn’t do this. The laughter and pointing and whispered comments started the moment he slipped out of his coat, and hadn’t stopped yet, even though it was already the middle of second period. Pretty much everybody in the room was ignoring Mr. Adler and his math lesson of the day in favor of the laughingstock glittering in the seat near the front of the classroom. Never in his life had Castiel regretted assigned seats more than he did right now.

He slumped to try and make himself smaller as the whispers started to get louder, and winced when the perpetually grumpy teacher finally turned around to yell at the class to be quiet. The whispers didn’t stop, they only got quieter and more covert. Being stopped by Mr. Adler as he was leaving class after the bell rang to be given a quick lecture on why he shouldn't be doing things to cause such a commotion in a place of learning only made the day even more unbearable. Though at this rate, maybe getting sent home for ‘creating a disturbance’ might be preferable, even if his parents got angry at him over it.

Third period was only tolerable because Charlie saved him a seat and glared at anybody who so much as giggled slightly. And nobody could live down the wrathful glare of the Queen of Moondor (as she was so fond of bragging about).

Fourth period went pretty fast for Castiel, since very few people were willing to risk talking during Mrs. Moseley’s history class. She didn’t yell or get pissy like Mr. Adler loved to do, but she was more than willing to turn her snark on those that deserved it. And for some reason when she said she was disappointed in your behavior, you believed her even if you were the biggest jerk in school (as many people learned last year when Dick Roman almost started crying when he was apologizing to her after getting caught texting during class instead of paying attention). She even gave Castiel a sympathetic look as he left, telling him in her bizarre way that everybody would have bigger things on their minds by Monday when the washer was working again. Nobody knew how she did that, but the general consensus was that she was psychic, especially since she’d yet to be wrong. Castiel prayed to whoever was listening that the latest Moseley Prophecy wouldn’t be the one to break her perfect streak.

He was putting away the last of his books in his locker so he could head to the cafeteria for lunch when he felt a finger trail across his shoulder blades. There was only one person that could be, and he withheld a groan as he turned around to face her.

“Maybe I should rent you next Christmas to put on top of my tree, Clarence,” Meg all but purred.

“It’s Castiel,” he reminded her, just like he did every time, and she ignored it like always.

“Pretty little angel like you would probably make all the presents under the tree pale in comparison, though,” she continued, sidling up next to him as he headed towards the cafeteria.

“Just so you know, I’m still gay,” he reminded her. Just like always.

“Can’t blame a girl for trying, with eyes like yours,” she said back. It had almost become a ritual at this point. They weren’t friends, not really, but Meg Masters was probably the only person that he actually felt completely comfortable around. Too bad that if they ever did become friends, they’d most likely annoy each other to death.

“We’re back to the eyes today?” Castiel said. Last week it was his hands she was fixated on, and a few weeks before that it was his neck, because according to her, it made a girl want to sin.

“I never leave ‘em, Clarence, I just sometimes look around a bit when you blink,” she flirted. Some day that girl was going to find someone to date, and she was going to eat that poor guy alive.

They were almost to the beginnings of the lunch line when she broke away from him. “Got a cigarette or two with my name on it, so I gotta head outside with all the other bad kids now. You be a good angel, so I don’t hafta go find my ‘Property of Meg’ brand.” She winked at him, then blew him a kiss as she headed towards the door leading outside. At this point, he wouldn’t be surprised to find out she actually did own a branding iron. But at least she’d taken his mind off his humiliating outfit for a few minutes. He’d have to thank her for that later.

He was grabbing a lunch tray when he felt someone bump into him. “Sorry about that,” came the voice from his side, and when Castiel turned around, he was met with the most amazing green eyes he had ever seen. When those green eyes widened comically, that was when Castiel knew Dean Winchester had finally seen what he was wearing.

“It’s laundry day,” Castiel muttered and dropped his gaze to the floor, trying to fight back the blush that was threatening to engulf his entire body.

There was a nervous chuckle, which made Castiel look up again. It wasn’t the cruel laughter he’d been dealing with all day, and now he was confused. “I get that, man,” Dean said, sounding a little nervous as he spoke. “Got stuck wearing one of my brother's mathletes shirts last year for that same reason.” He smiled shyly, and Castiel found it somewhat difficult to breathe suddenly.

“At least you didn’t sparkle like a disco ball,” Castiel teased back, unsure of where this new confidence was coming from. It was like talking to Meg, except the good kind of comfortable.

Dean let out a real laugh at that. “Yeah, that is true. Makes you easy to find in a crowd, at least,” he said in his smooth voice. Was he… flirting? Couldn't be…

“I guess,” Castiel said, ducking his head again because nothing was going to keep the blush back now.

“Well, I’ll see ya around, Cas,” Dean said quickly.

“Bye, Dean,” Castiel responded automatically. Dean Winchester knew who he was? He grabbed a few random pieces of food, in a bit of a daze because he wasn’t completely sure what just happened, and sat down at his usual seat with Charlie and the rest of her friends. Only after he was seated did he see that he’d grabbed a turkey sandwich and a thing of chili cheese fries. Not his usual fare, but no way was he getting back into that line now.

“What’s got you so spooked, Cas?” Charlie asked as she grabbed at his fries. “And since when do you get anything for lunch other than a burger and a piece of fruit?”

“Maybe he just felt like a change?” Garth suggested in his diplomatic way. Though all that diplomacy didn’t stop him from reaching across the table with a gangly arm to grab a fry himself. “You don’t mind, right?” At least he was polite enough to ask, unlike certain royalty. Castiel nodded, and Garth gave him this huge goofy grin.

“Maybe he was distracted by everybody’s reaction to his outfit?” Came the quiet suggestion from behind a book. “My sympathies, by the way.” Kevin poked his head out from behind an AP chemistry textbook that he’d propped in front of him and smiled in his hesitant way. He was two years behind them, but Charlie had taken one look at him when he was an incoming freshman and declared him so adorable that she just had to have him. ‘I’mma keep him,’ had been her exact words, like he was a puppy or something.

Castiel had learned quickly that that was basically how Charlie collected all her friends. The only one missing from the table today was Charlie’s girlfriend Gilda, but that was to be expected because she’d been out sick for most of the week already with a really bad flu bug. Charlie was currently banned from visiting by her parents, after almost destroying the kitchen trying to make chicken soup. From a can.

“It was… Dean Winchester,” Castiel finally said, now that there was a moment of silence to speak. These people were his friends, but he still felt kind of shy and awkward around them even now.

“Did Dean insult you? Do I need to kick his ass for you?” Charlie offered, and Castiel didn’t doubt that she’d at the very least try.

“Don’t get in trouble,” Kevin warned.

“You shouldn’t be beating up people in the first place,” Garth said, trying to diffuse the situation before it even started.

“It wasn’t anything like that,” Castiel tried to defend Dean. He explained what had happened, leaving out the parts where he had imagined Dean flirting with him.

“He was flirting with you,” Charlie said, flat out. Had he accidentally said anything about his unrealistic suspicions? He looked to Garth, who only nodded as he grabbed more of Castiel's fries.

“I heard someone mention Dean being bi a while back,” Kevin said, his book completely forgotten by now.

“Didn’t he go on a few dates with that Benny guy back in October?” Garth said, scrunching his face up in concentration. “I think Anna saw them together at the Roadhouse.”

“Should we really be gossiping about Dean’s love life?” Castiel was already a mess today, and having someone like Dean actually for real flirting with him would just crank the crazy up to eleven.

“Normally I’d agree with you, Cas,” Garth said, “but this is very important business. And you should eat your sandwich at least, if you’re not going to eat your fries.”

“See, even Garth ships it,” Charlie said as she snagged the rest of the accidental fries.

“I don’t understand that reference,” Castiel muttered as he picked up his sandwich.

“It means that he thinks you guys should be together romantically,” Kevin explained. “She talks about shipping fictional characters all the time.”

“Not all the time,” Charlie protested.

“Fine, two-thirds,” Kevin relented.

“I… okay, maybe that’s accurate,” Charlie finally agreed. “And now I totally ship Cas and Dean together. And their ship name can be Deanstiel. Or… no, Destiel! It sounds perfect.”

“Destiel sounds great, especially since he’s been shooting glances this way ever since you sat down,” Garth pointed out. Castiel looked over at the area where the jocks tended to congregate, and when his eyes met Dean’s he looked away immediately, blushing like it was going out of style. He had been looking…

“Oh my god, so cute,” Charlie let out in a squeal.

“Yep, I definitely ship it,” Garth said and nodded.

“It is a classic romantic comedy trope,” Kevin said. “The jock falling for the nerd.”

“How on earth would you know that?” Charlie asked, shooting Kevin a suspicious look.

“My girlfriend makes me watch them with her,” he admitted, hanging his head.

“I’ve met Claire, she is not someone you say no to,” Garth agreed, plucking his apple off his tray and pushing it towards Castiel.

“You should invite her to Star Wars-apalooza tomorrow,” Charlie said, the glint in her eyes telling anybody that knows her well that she wants to make sure this girl is properly geeky for her friend. There would be tests, some maybe even written.

“Maybe,” Kevin said and blushed. Castiel would need to thank him, too, for getting the subject off of Dean and the impossible flirting. Castiel had a huge crush on the popular sports star pretty much since his first day of school here, and there was no way a guy like him would go for someone like Castiel, romantic comedy trope or not.

Castiel’s love life discussion completely forgotten, he ate his sandwich mostly in silence as the rest of his friends spent lunch talking about a bit of everything. Kevin was forced to tell them (by Charlie) all about his new girlfriend, who he’d only been dating for a few weeks and went to a different school. Garth told them about the latest misadventures of Mr. Fizzles, the sock puppet show he did at the local children’s hospital where he volunteered. Charlie mostly just told them all about the plans for tomorrow, even though they rewatched the original Star wars trilogy every month like clockwork. By the time the bell rang to signal the end of lunch, Castiel had managed to forget what he was wearing.

~~~

The giggling and whispering made sure to remind him about his unfortunate outfit after he left his locker, though. At least now he could ignore it. Somewhat.

The next few periods went about the same as most of the others, with giggling and whispering and mild to moderate annoyed teachers. He got a few pitying glances, but none of the other teachers pulled an Adler, at least. It wasn’t until the last period of the day that anything really changed.

Castiel always looked forward to English class, because it was the only one he shared with Dean this year. While most everybody else probably just saw him as a dumb jock, Castiel got to watch in awe as he came alive in English class. He would always see things from a unique yet insightful perspective, and he knew he wasn’t just being biased because of his crush, since the teacher would compliment Dean’s analysis on a fairly regular basis. But there would be no awed watching for Castiel today, because their teacher, Mr. Edlund, was out sick.

Just when everybody was starting to wonder what was going on, Ms. Barnes, the art teacher, showed up a few minutes after the bell rang. “Yeah, he’s out sick,” she explained when she entered the room and everybody started asking questions. “They stuck me with you guys because I don't have a class right now. Lucky us. So you basically just get a study hall. I really don't care what you do, as long as you’re not loud enough to get us in trouble.” She sat down in Mr. Edlund’s chair behind his desk, and added as an afterthought “Oh, and even though it’s the last period of the day, you’re not supposed to leave. Some BS rule or something, which they made sure to stress to me. So don’t be too loud, and don’t leave til the bell rings. Okay, sounds great.” As soon as she was done talking, she pulled out a magazine from her bag and shoved a set of earbuds in her ears. And of course, everybody took full advantage of this.

As everybody moved desks around to talk with their friends, they forgot all about the shy kid in the back of the classroom wearing the weird clothing. Castiel breathed a sigh of relief and pulled out a paperback book. At least the last part of his day was going to be uneventful.

But he obviously had a celestial target on his back. He didn’t realize part of the way through the class period that the latest sound of a moving desk was headed in his direction until he felt eyes on him. He looked up from his book to fall back into those green eyes from lunch. He was supposed to feel like he was drowning, right?

“Hey,” Dean said awkwardly. Since when was Dean Winchester awkward? “Thought maybe you might want some company, but if you’re really into your book I can leave.” Castiel had to stop himself from shouting at Dean to not go, to stay, just be in the same general vicinity as him, anything as long as he existed. Apparently the crush had gotten a fair amount worse since lunch time.

“It’s okay, I’ve read it before anyway,” Castiel actually said, managing to sound almost calm. At least he thought he did. Now that he could see Dean closer, he wanted to reach out and count the freckles on his face. Castiel was really starting to miss his former obscurity, because it’s much easier to pine from afar. Less likely to say or do something stupid that way. “Don’t your other friends want your company?” He asked, legitimately confused as to why Dean was over here talking to him instead of his own friends. He tilted his head slightly, trying to figure it out.

Dean visibly swallowed before speaking, only confusing Castiel worse. “Well, I was hearing some of the stuff people were saying, and I guess I wanted to check up on you?” Dean shrugged to show how little of a deal this really was to him, but Castiel couldn’t help but notice the serious set to his face. Dean had been worried about him?

“Why me?” Castiel blurted out, before covering up his mouth in horror. He sounded like a total assbutt. But Dean just chuckled.

“Well, we did have a moment there in line. Shared our tragic backstories and everything,” he said, his smile making Castiel glad he was already sitting down.

“Yeah, those were the days,” Castiel said wistfully. “All those few hours ago.” If you ignored all the anxiety of his too-popular-for-him crush sitting down to talk to him like they were long time friends, this was probably one of the least awkward feeling conversations he’d ever been part of.

Dean laughed so loud at his lame joke that half the class turned around to stare at them. Castiel ducked his head and blushed. “Sorry about that,” Dean apologized. “I never knew how funny you were.”

“I’m not that funny,” Castiel said, blushing further.

“Dude, you’re a riot,” Dean assured him. “Might hafta keep you around more, take advantage of that wit of yours.”

“Really?” Castiel couldn’t help but ask. He’d never once cared about being one of the popular kids, but if it meant getting to be around Dean, it might be worth it.

“Definitely. You’re pretty cool, Cas.” Dean readjusted himself in the desk that he’d been sitting in backwards to be able to face Castiel better. “You oughta come to my party tomorrow.” He paused before rushing out “It’s probably not really your thing, but I’d like it if you showed. If you wanted to, at least. No pressure.”

“I… um…” Castiel didn’t know what to say. Dean Winchester was personally inviting him to his party. Usually he just announced the party, and people showed because they’d always done so. He’d never heard of Dean actually inviting someone, especially not a faceless nobody in a leftover ugly Christmas sweater. “Sure,” he finally managed to get out. The huge grin that spread across Dean’s face proved that he’d made the right choice.

“That’s awesome,” Dean said excitedly. “Thanks, man. You’re gonna love it.”

“What time should I be there?” Castiel asked, wondering what high school parties were like, since he’d only ever seen them in movies.

“Oh, umm, people usually start showing up around seven I guess?” Dean scratched at his neck and looked a little confused, like nobody had ever asked him that question before.

“I’ll make sure to show up then,” Castiel said, trying his hardest to not show how much he was freaking out.

“You could always swing by earlier, if you wanted,” Dean said softly, making Castiel’s heart stop for a few seconds longer than would normally be considered healthy.

“I…” Castiel didn’t know how to respond to that. So of course, his brain decided to ruin everything. “My friends and I are watching the original Star Wars trilogy tomorrow, and I’m not sure when we’ll be done,” he said, then wanted to sink into the floor.

But instead of getting upset or looking hurt, Dean just smiled bigger. “I’d never get in the way of Han Solo. Just swing by after.”

“I can smuggle you out some popcorn,” Castiel teased, already bouncing back to excitement. There was seriously just something about Dean that brought out this side of him, made him feel more comfortable in his own skin.

“While that does sound pretty tempting, I already have the party snacks bought,” Dean said in a consoling tone. “Next time, though, definitely. I’ll even mark you down as bringing the smuggled popcorn.”

“Should I bring anything tomorrow?” Castiel asked, just in case there were rules for these kinds of things that he didn’t know.

“Naw, just you,” Dean said, scratching at his neck again. “You know, you sure do ask a lot of questions.”

“Sorry,” Castiel blushed, lowering his head again in shame. He hadn’t wanted to seem annoying.

“No no no no no,” Dean said quickly, lifting Castiel’s head up until they were looking at each other again. “I didn’t mean it to sound bad, I promise. I guess I’m just not used to people asking about my parties. Mostly they just show up, drink my booze, have a ton of fun, and thank me a bunch on Monday. You’re totally fine, Cas.”

“It’s my first high school party,” Castiel admitted quietly. He was having trouble thinking, because Dean’s fingers were still on his chin.

“Then I’ll make sure to make it special for you,” Dean said softly, looking for all the world like he was going to lean in any second and kiss him. Castiel probably would’ve started hyperventilating if the final bell hadn’t chose to ring then.

The two jumped apart in surprise. A few seconds later, Dean grabbed Castiel’s notebook and quickly scribbled something in it. “Text me tomorrow when the Holy Trilogy’s over and I’ll give you directions to my place,” he said as he gathered up his stuff.

“Okay,” Castiel said in a bit of a daze, not sure if he could even believe anything that had happened in the past hour, or even the entire day.

“See ya tomorrow, Cas,” Dean called out over his shoulder as he left. Castiel just stared, and other than Ms. Barnes, he was the last one to leave the room.

~~~

Castiel had barely finished putting his locker combination in when Charlie pounced on him. “I forgot to buy you your sorrow ice cream at lunch, what with all the shipping fuss,” she said, her arms still held tightly around his back in a hug. “We can go get it now, if you want. It’ll taste way better than that crap the cafeteria has, at least.”

“I think I’m good,” Castiel replied, getting his stuff together with a girl hanging off of him without a problem, since he was used to it. Charlie had always been physically clingy like this.

“Don’t need to bitch and moan about your worst day ever?” She asked as she finally let go.

“It wasn’t so bad,” he said, smiling at the memory of talking to Dean.

“Something obviously happened since lunch,” she figured out loud. “And my money’s on it being Dean related since I know you use English to swoon over him in secret.” He gave her a startled look. He hadn’t realized he’d been so transparent. “Oh please, Cas, your crush has been obvious since day one to me. What’d you guys talk about?”

“He invited me to his party tomorrow,” he said as he shut his locker. He started towards the door, only realizing Charlie wasn’t following him a few seconds later. “What?” He asked when he looked back and saw her frozen in place, a look of shock on her face.

“Dean… invited you to his party?” Her eyes were as wide as they could go. Castiel just nodded. “But nobody gets invited, they just show up.”

“Dean did mention that,” he said, smiling shyly. Poor Dean. That must be such a burden.

“Oh my god, sooo flirting!” She squealed and pounced on him again. “I totally called it. You hafta name your first kid after me now.”

“I’m still in high school, so I doubt I’ll be having kids anytime soon, Charlie,” Castiel sighed, rolling his eyes.

“But you guys are so my OTP now. You hafta get hitched and adopt some kids and be adorably domestic together.” She reached up and tousled his hair. “We hafta pick out the perfect outfit for your date tomorrow.” He didn’t bother putting up a fight as she dragged him along to the parking lot, since he knew there was no point.

“It’s not a date, he was probably just being nice,” he tried to explain.

“Don’t you dare disrespect my OTP with your disbelieving ways, Castiel Novak,” she said sternly. “Come on, we’re heading to the mall.”

“But I’m still in the ugly outfit,” he complained. School was bad enough while wearing it, but he’d had no choice. He was not going to willingly go out in further public.

“I have a shirt you can borrow,” she told him when they reached her old Bug, sitting in the now mostly deserted parking lot. She reached into the tiny back seat and grabbed a balled up piece of cloth and shoved it into his arms. He sighed in resignation and slipped his coat off, depositing both it and his messenger bag in the back seat.

He slipped out of the sweater and the shirt as she drove, hoping that no one noticed the half naked guy in the passenger seat. The shirt was a bit tight, but he’d take it and its unicorn pooping out a rainbow over that green monstrosity any day. “I wish you’d have mentioned the shirt in your car earlier,” he said, only pouting slightly.

“Totally forgot about it, sorry,” she said as they pulled into the mall parking lot. “I’ll buy you an extra scoop in apology.”

“Wearing that sweater all day, I freaking deserve hot fudge.”

“As you wish,” she said with a giggle as she locked the car. Castiel slipped his coat back on as quickly as he could to protect himself against the cold as they headed towards the entrance.

“I look like every stereotype of a homosexual male right now,” he complained a few minutes later as they sat down with their ice cream.

“You look adorable,” Charlie reprimanded him. Castiel answered by sulking further. “We’ll get you something nice and manly to wear for tomorrow, I promise.” He sulked even further still, but did so while eating his hot fudge sundae.

More than almost anything on the planet, Castiel hated clothes shopping. His closet at home, when his laundry was all clean at least, was full of plain button up shirts in multiple subdued colors, and a mixture of jeans and slacks. He had probably worn every wild piece of clothing he owned at school today. He made a lot of faces to show his desire to be anywhere but here as Charlie filled his arms with a bunch of different shirts and accessories. “You already have some decent pairs of jeans, so that bit’s taken care of,” she muttered as she spotted yet another t-shirt for the pile. “How about a hat?” She plopped a black fedora on his head, then she shook her own. “Nope, probably shouldn’t cover up the sex hair.”

“You can’t have sex hair if you’ve never had sex,” he grumbled.

“Well, you prove that wrong on an almost daily basis,” she said before darting off to another section. She came back, grinning excitedly and holding up a red leather jacket. “You would look so amazing in this.”

“And probably pass out from heat stroke,” he said, feeling grumpier by the minute. “Besides, it’s probably way out of my price range.” She pouted, but at least she put it back. “It did look really nice,” he said in consolation when she got back.

Finally satisfied that she had found every single awesome shirt in the entire store, she pushed him over to the dressing rooms. “We totally need a fashion montage here,” she said when he came out wearing the first one.

Two hours and four stores later, they finally left the mall. Castiel now had five new t-shirts, a vintage looking blazer, a red tie that he doubted he’d ever wear, and a headache. He waved as Charlie drove off, glad to finally be home. He had conveniently left the sweater in her back seat, and she had promised on the way home to conveniently forget that it was his the next time she dropped stuff off at the local thrift store donation center. It was probably Castiel’s favorite non-Dean-related part of the day.

When he went inside, his mom apologized about the washer and informed him that she’d done all his laundry for him to try and make up for it. She gave him an odd look when she saw his shirt, but thankfully didn’t mention it. He went to his room to put away his new and clean clothing, and spent the rest of the evening working on homework and trying to not think about anything.

Right before he went to bed, though, he pulled out the notebook that Dean had scribbled his number in and put it in his contact list under Dean. He fell asleep smiling.


	2. Chapter 2

The panic didn't start to kick in until Castiel had been up for about an hour or so. He had never been fast at waking up, and weekends were no exception. He was staring at the kitchen cupboards as he chewed a mouthful of cereal when the first stirrings showed up. In less than twelves hours, he’d be at Dean’s party, at his house where he lived and slept and existed when he wasn’t at school. A bit of milk went down the wrong pipe, and Castiel spent almost an entire minute just coughing.

The text message waiting on his phone when he got back to his bedroom only made it worse. Charlie had decided that he just had to wear his new blazer, and even told him which t-shirt to wear underneath. She somehow even managed to remember that Castiel owned a pair of blue jeans that were a bit tight on him and told him to wear those as well, because they made his ‘ass look incredible, and I’m a lesbian so that’s saying something.’ He rolled his eyes at that part, but he still grabbed that pair as he was getting dressed. Panic over the party was nothing compared to Charlie’s earned wrath.

It was a little past noon when he knocked on the door at Charlie’s house. She always told him to just come right in, but that felt too weird. He even knocked when he went to his grandparents’ house, and they were family. As always, after Charlie answered the door she gave him the usual speech about him being part of her bitches and that meant there was no need to knock. By now, Castiel could easily repeat the whole thing right along with her, he’d heard it so many times.

The new part didn’t happen until he took off his trench coat. The squeal that came out of that girl’s mouth was enough to break eardrums, and Castiel covered his ears instinctively. “Oww,” he muttered when it finally stopped.

“I was so freaking right. You look downright edible, Novak. Make sure Dean knows that he’s lucky I only like girls and have a hot one of my own already, or I might’ve snatched you up myself,” Charlie babbled as she put Castiel’s coat away. She started messing with his hair a few moments later, though. “There’s no way Dean can resist you now, cuz dayum.”

He swatted at her hands. “What are you even doing?”

“Sex hair. With an outfit like that, it’s required,” she said, hands still making an absolute mess of his hair.

“The party doesn’t start for almost seven hours, so why are you doing this now?” he asked, before finally giving up and letting her do her thing.

“Practice at looking sexy,” she said, putting what he assumed was the last finishing touches on his hair before stepping back and appraising her work. He let out a tortured sigh, which only made the evil redhead giggle. “How on earth are you still single?” She asked off handedly as she dragged him to the living room.

“Severe social anxiety mixed with introversion and a lot of shyness,” Castiel explained.

“Yeah, that would do it,” Garth said as Charlie pushed Castiel down into his usual seat.

“Popcorn’s almost done!” Kevin shouted from the kitchen. It was so rare to hear his voice raised like that that they all paused to stare for a second before going back to their conversation.

“Doesn’t Cas look hot as all get out?” Charlie asked Garth.

“I’m sure if I swung that way, I’d appreciate it a lot more, but otherwise he does look really good,” Garth said, nodding the entire time.

Kevin started passing out bowls of popcorn then, but Charlie refused to push play until Kevin agreed with how hot Castiel looked. He was blushing really hard at this point from all the compliments, and was glad when the music finally started blaring through the sound system and the words started scrolling across the screen.

After _A New Hope_ finished, they took a break to grab more snacks, and Kevin apologized for Claire not being able to make it today. Something about being grounded.

“Ooh, Kevin got himself a bad girl,” Charlie teased, and was promptly hit in the face with a handful of popcorn. Castiel congratulated Kevin, right before the kid was pelted in popcorn return fire. Everybody was laughing, even Castiel, as assorted snack foods went flying.

“Nobody hit Cas!” Charlie called out. “Don’t want grease stains to ruin his first date!” Castiel blushed and hid under a blanket. Let them think he was hiding to protect his clothes, if they wanted. There was no way this was a date, right?

Castiel anxiously kneaded at the blanket all throughout the second movie. The panic from earlier was back, and it had brought a few hundred friends apparently. He didn’t know which scared him more, it being a date or it not being a date.

The third movie was only a few minutes in when Castiel pulled out his phone. The party would be starting in a few hours, was it too soon to text Dean? He felt a nudge and saw his three friends giving him encouraging looks, ignoring the movie completely (which was normally a sin, according to Charlie and Garth, and even Gilda). “Go for it,” Garth said, and the other two nodded in agreement.

He tried not to blush when Kevin whispered “Great, now I ship it, too.” He ignored the laughter as he pulled up a new text window. Now, what to write?

It was almost twenty minutes later when Castiel finally pushed send. Any other time, he’d be ashamed of himself, but this was really freaking scary, okay?

**You (4:52pm): Hello Dean, this is Castiel from yesterday. I hope I’m not texting too early. I thought it best to get your address now, before you got busy. Thank you again for inviting me.**

He nervously chewed on his lip after he sent it, every possible bad scenario running through his head at once. Dean having given him a wrong number on purpose. Dean having invited so many different people this time that he forgot which one Castiel was. Dean having only invited Castiel out of pity. Dean having changed his mind about wanting Castiel to be there. This all being a prank, even though Dean had seemed sincere and really nice yesterday. Castiel waking up any minute and finding out this was all a dream. The last one seemed like the most likely option, and he let out a surprised yelp when his phone made the noise indicating he had a new message.

**Dean (4:54pm): Hey Cas, no prob. Kinda glad you texted so early, actually. I was gonna start putting stuff out in a bit and I might not have heard it. Having fun with my man Han?**

He blushed slightly as he read the response, then blushed even further when he looked up and saw all the people in the room staring at him and smiling. “So dorbs,” Charlie whispered. Castiel glared at them all until they went back to watching the movie.

**You (4:56pm): We watch it every month, so I’m having about as much fun as expected. I do enjoy the series, though. There’s less than an hour left, if you need any help setting up?**

Castiel pressed Send before he had a chance to overthink it. It was just offering help, it wasn’t a marriage proposal or something. It was a completely okay thing to offer. Totally normal. And him squeaking at the quick response had nothing to with anxiety whatsoever.

**Dean (4:57pm): Too much of a good thing, I totally get that. And yeah, I’d really appreciate the help. Lots of crap to do. I’m at 264 Oak St. Text me when you head out.**

That wasn’t actually that far from Charlie’s house. Fifteen, maybe twenty minute walk at most. Castiel spent the rest of the movie checking his phone for the time constantly. Nobody said anything about it until the credits started to roll. Then as one, his three friends crowded around him and started pushing him towards the door. Garth broke off to grab Castiel’s coat, and handed it to him as Kevin opened the door and Charlie messed with his hair some more.

“Hey,” he let out as he tried in vain to fight back.

“It’s beyond obvious you’d rather be at Dean’s, so we’re just helping you along,” Charlie said innocently.

“We wouldn’t want to keep you,” Garth said as he helped Castiel into his coat.

“Not every day our Cas gets a date,” Kevin explained, obviously having been corrupted by Charlie’s influence.

“It’s not a date,” Castiel shot back as he was shoved, carefully, onto the front porch.

“Yes it is!” The three shouted in unison as the door slammed shut. Maybe hanging out with Meg instead would be the safer option from now on. He grumbled a few choice phrases under his breath as he buttoned up his coat and pulled out his phone. He typed as he started walking.

**You (5:38pm): On my way now. Should be there in about fifteen to twenty minutes.**

Castiel’s phone dinged not too long after he hit send himself. Dean must’ve had his phone in his hand to respond so fast. He was probably talking to other people about the party. Because there was no way everybody was right about this being a date...

**Dean (5:38pm): Awesome! See you soon. :)**

Castiel walked a little faster after that. Not enough to get all sweaty and winded, but definitely as fast as he could otherwise. He knocked on the door of 264 only twelve minutes after he left Charlie’s house, a little bit embarrassed at being so early. Dean didn’t know where he’d been coming from, though, so hopefully he’d just assume Castiel was bad at guessing times.

He started to worry when Dean didn’t answer the door immediately, and was about to start panicking properly when an out of breath Dean finally opened it. “Sorry ‘bout that, Cas. Kitchen’s all the way in the back. C’mon in.”

Dean stepped aside as Castiel entered. The inside looked like any other house, but it still felt special because it was Dean’s. He wandered over to the wall, looking at the photos hanging up. There were a bunch of Dean in his sports uniforms and at games, and a fair amount of a younger looking kid at awards ceremonies, and from the mathletes picture Castiel figured that must be Dean’s little brother. There weren’t any family photos, but there was one of what he guessed was Dean when he was about four, being held in a pretty blonde woman’s lap as Dean himself held what was most likely his baby brother in his own lap.

“That’s my mom,” Dean said behind Castiel. He froze, startled because he hadn’t heard Dean’s approach. “She… she died a few months after that was taken. Really bad car crash. Sammy was only six months old when it happened.”

Castiel turned around, tears threatening to form in his eyes. “Oh, I’m so sorry, Dean.” And without thinking, he grabbed Dean and hugged him. Even with his family members, Castiel wasn’t very touchy feely, but right now, this felt right. And he wasn’t alone in that thinking, because he felt Dean’s arm wrap around him as he returned the hug.

“Thanks,” Dean said as they finally pulled apart, after what felt like a much longer than normal amount of time. He gave Castiel a grateful smile, then grabbed his hand to pull him towards the kitchen. “Now that we got the chick flick moment finished, we got a lot of stuff to set up,” Dean joked, but Castiel could barely focus on the words over the feel of Dean technically holding his hand. Tonight was going to kill him, he just knew it.

They spent the next hour teasing each other and telling awful jokes. Castiel literally couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed so much or so hard. He tried to ignore the looks Dean kept giving him every so often, because he just had to be imagining them, right? Dean complimenting him on his outfit when he’d returned from dropping his coat off in the bedroom was definitely just him being nice. And the fact that Dean seemed to take any excuse to touch him was entirely on accident, of course. Castiel just told even more jokes to cover up his nervousness, and mentally crossed his fingers that Dean wouldn't be able to guess the reason.

Dean’s friend Victor showed up about fifteen minutes before the party was supposed to start, and Castiel got the chance to help unload and set up three kegs of beer. When he had looked surprised as Victor hopped into the back of the truck he'd driven over, Dean explained that Victor's older brother worked at a brewery and brought home kegs for Dean’s parties all the time. When Castiel expressed his surprise over Dean being allowed to have parties like that in the first place, Dean had explained that his dad was out of town a lot for his job, and really didn’t care as long as Sam wasn’t in the house (tonight, he’d be staying the night at his friend Alfie’s, for example).

Castiel just couldn’t grasp it. His parents would have flat out murdered Luc if he’d ever tried anything like this, and they’d grounded Gabe for three months once just for sneaking in a small bottle of tequila that he'd been caught sharing with two of his friends in his bedroom. The fact that Mr. Winchester didn't care that Dean did things like this just felt too different. But nobody else seemed to feel the same way, especially when people started trickling in and the bottles of alcohol in the kitchen kept multiplying.

But he quickly forgot about how strange it all was as the party started going full swing. There was loud music pounding through the house, with people dancing in the area of the living room he and Dean had cleared out earlier. Everywhere he looked he saw the disposable red cups Dean had bought a few big containers of, and it was obvious they all contained some kind of alcoholic beverage. Nobody seemed to know who he was, but they all treated him like a friend. He knew it was because they were drinking, but still, it did feel a little nice in a semi-false sort of way. He was even part of a conversation for a minute or two where they were talking about that weird guy wearing that shiny green sweater at school yesterday. He was afraid they were about to start teasing him about it until one of the girls turned to him and asked if he’d seen the guy. He’d shook his head no and left the group as soon as he could.

He bumped into Dean in the kitchen. He was pouring some beer out of one of the kegs for a few girls, all of whom were obviously flirting with him. He was giving them a bunch of winks and flirtatious smiles himself, until he spotted Castiel. He gave the last girl her red cup without looking, and was in front of Castiel in no time flat. “Heya, Cas,” he said, leaning in to say it in Castiel’s ear since the music was still loud even this far away. “Having fun yet?”

“It’s… definitely interesting,” Castiel said into Dean’s ear. He suppressed a shiver at being so close, and couldn’t help but notice how good Dean smelled. “It’s a bit loud and a bit crowded, but it’s actually pretty entertaining. There’s so much to watch.”

“Yeah, I can see that,” Dean agreed, letting his mouth linger near Castiel’s ear a little longer than necessary. This time, he couldn’t suppress the shiver, and it was obvious that Dean noticed it. “Hey, you thirsty?” Dean pulled back and pointed to the keg, tilting his head to ask if Castiel wanted some beer.

“Umm, sure. I’ve never had it before, though,” Castiel answered. Dean dragged him over to the keg, and Castiel smiled when he realized Dean and Charlie would probably get along really well. They were a lot alike.

Dean handed him a red cup, and held up one of his own. “Cheers,” he said with a laugh as he clinked the plastic together.

Castiel let out his own laugh and clinked back. “Cheers.”

“To first times,” Dean said. He winked at Castiel, who went red immediately. He ducked his head to hide, and felt fingers on his chin again, pulling his face up. “Hey, don't hide. I didn’t mean to embarrass you, Cas. I’m sorry.” Dean’s eyes shone green with apology, and Castiel melted a little.

“It’s okay, Dean,” he said softly, not sure if Dean could even hear it over the music. But he smiled, so he must have.

“Now try yours, I wanna see what you think,” Dean said, nudging at Castiel's cup with his own.

Castiel took a sip, and wasn’t sure if he liked it or not. He took a few more experimental sips, and only around the sixth one did he make a decision. He looked at Dean to tell him what he thought, and froze. Dean was watching him with a look that was borderline awe. “I think I like it,” Castiel whispered, not sure if he was talking about the beer any more.

“Yeah,” Dean whispered back. The universe stopped around them, and Castiel just stared. Had Dean always been this beautiful? He started to reach his free hand up to touch Dean’s face when the universe interrupted by starting back up again.

“Hey, Dean!” One of Dean’s teammates shouted as a few of them barreled into the kitchen. The spell now broken, Castiel took a step back as they piled around Dean. They started to drag him off with them, and Castiel let them. It had all been a dream anyway. Though the helpless look Dean flashed him before he was out of sight completely made at least part of Castiel’s certainty crumble.

It was over an hour later before Castiel finally saw Dean again. He was sitting on the back porch, trying to escape all the girls that kept flirting with him even after he told them he was gay, when he felt someone sit down next to him. Dean draped his arm around Castiel's shoulder and said “Found you.”

“That you did,” Castiel replied, thinking that Dean was drunk.

“Trying to escape my party already, Cas?” Dean pouted. Yeah, he was most likely drunk.

“No, just escaping all the girls hitting on me,” Castiel said with a sigh. He took another sip from his cup, this time just cola. He’d finished his first beer but decided against a second so that maybe his parents wouldn't notice the smell.

“What, you already got a girlfriend or something?” Dean said, but the joke didn’t sound near as jovial as it should have.

“No, no girlfriend, too gay for one of those,” Castiel teased, unable to resist it. He felt Dean’s arm relax at that, not having noticed it tensing before.

“Boyfriend, then?” Dean asked, sounding worried for some reason. Castiel shook his head no. Dean let out a sigh, and pulled Castiel in a little closer. “You know, I’m bisexual,” Dean said almost randomly.

“So I’ve heard,” Castiel said back. “My friends told me yesterday when they were trying to convince me you'd been flirting with me.” He gasped in horror at his own words and looked away. He didn’t think that the one beer had affected him so bad, but there it was, blurting stuff out of his mouth without permission.

He looked back when Dean chuckled. “So you were talking about me with your friends, then?”

“Yeah,” Castiel said, pretty sure his face had to be glowing, he was blushing so hard. “They were trying to convince me you were flirting with me in the lunch line.”

“They were?” Dean said, leaning in a little more. Maybe if Castiel were lucky, Dean would forget all this when he sobered up.

“Yeah,” Castiel softly. “And they were trying to convince me that this was a date.” Might as well lay it all on the table. Dean was draped over him and leaning in as if they were boyfriends, so he must be drunk. There was no other plausible explanation…

“And what if they were right?” Dean asked, leaning in closer still.

Castiel felt like crying, so he looked away again to hide his eyes. “Dean, you’re drunk. You don’t know what you’re saying.” He’d wanted this for so long, and now he had it, but not the right way.

“I never get drunk at my own parties, Cas,” Dean whispered into his ear. “That way if anything happens, I’m sober and can figure out what to do.”

“So you meant all that?” Castiel whispered back, still unable to look at Dean.

“Yeah, Cas,” Dean said, tickling Castiel’s ear with his breath. It was all too much.

“I’ve had a crush on you since I moved here,” Castiel admitted, afraid that he still might break this, whatever it was.

“Really?” Dean asked, sounding amazed. Castiel nodded, and Dean grabbed his face again, moving it until they were staring into each other's eyes. It was starting to become a habit, and with Dean’s strong fingers on his jaw, Castiel figured he could find it in him to get used to it. “I’ve, uhh… been watching you too, Cas. I never really had the chance to talk to you because you were always so quiet, even with your friends. But when I bumped into you yesterday, I took the chance, and you ended up being way more amazing than I thought.”

Dean let go of his face, and Castiel let out a small whimper at the loss of contact. “Sorry if this ended up not working out very well as a first date,” Dean said, blushing a bit himself. It made the freckles stand out even clearer, and this time Castiel allowed himself to reach out and brush against one. Dean grabbed his hand mid-brush, and twined their fingers together. “Can I maybe take you out for a proper date soon?” He asked, squeezing Castiel’s hand and looking about a half inch away from begging.

“I’d love that,” Castiel replied, praying that he didn’t ever wake up from this amazing, beautiful dream. Dean’s smile was bigger than he’d ever seen it, and his own probably matched. Dean started leaning in closer, but in Castiel's impatience he grabbed him and brought him in for a kiss. It was his first one ever, but he was still pretty sure none of them would ever top this one. Dean pushed his way into Castiel’s mouth with his tongue and scooted closer until every part of them that could touch, was.

When they finally pulled apart, Castiel's hair now even messier after having Dean’s fingers tangling in it, they both looked up to see at least a third of the people at the party watching them with curiosity from the windows and the yard itself. “Hey, can’t a guy get some private time with his boyfriend?” He yelled at them in a joking manner. More than a few girls looked disappointed, and a few of the guys clapped Dean on the back with some mumbled congratulations, and then they were finally back to being mostly alone. Even the couple people standing nearby smoking finished off their cigarettes quickly and headed back inside.

“That was okay, right?” Dean asked, suddenly looking nervous. “Calling you my boyfriend and all. You’d wanna be my boyfriend, right?” He was so nervous that Castiel couldn’t help but giggle at how adorable he was being.

“Nothing could be better, Dean,” Castiel said, leaning in to kiss his boyfriend again.

Monday at school, everybody was gushing about Dean’s new boyfriend and how they were such a cute couple, the events of Friday already completely forgotten. And Mrs. Moseley’s streak was still perfect.

**Author's Note:**

> The Kevin/Claire is 150% all Andromytta's fault. She went and got me hooked. Blame her. ^_^


End file.
